Faking My Way to a Marathon

Five Healthy Soups and Stews for Winter

I am so excited to have one of my dearest friends guest blogging today. I met Tafadzwa or Taffy (as she is fondly known) when we were both terrified little 13 year old girls starting Secondary School. We immediately clicked and so grew a remarkable friendship that has spanned decades and has seen us get married and have kids. Our first kids were born 5 days apart… I think even our husbands doubt us when we say “It was not planned!” But being pregnant with my best friend was an awesome experience.

Although running has never really interested Taffy, she has been an immense support on my running journey and she recently registered for her first 10k Race! One of her biggest passions is cooking and she is an extraordinary chef. Today she is sharing some amazing recipes to help keep us warm (and running) this winter! Enjoy 🙂

**********************************

I’m reliably informed that after a long run on a cold winter’s night nothing warms the body better than a big bowl of soup. The last thing on anyone’s mind while freezing to the bone is cooking a full-on meal. Warmth and convenience aren’t the only reasons why soups are great for runners – soups are also an easy, one-dish recovery meal that features the right mix of carbohydrates, protein, and healing vitamins and minerals. Eating soups after a run refuels your tank with healthy food and the extra liquid helps restore hydration.

I’m sharing five soup recipes that are in constant rotation at my house during winter. They are all easy to make and taste just as good, if not better, as leftovers at work the next day.

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the oxtail, onion, garlic and chilli in a deep soup pot. Cover with the stock and water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer covered for 1 hour 30 minutes, frequently skimming off any foam that rises to the surface in order to keep the stock clear.

Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the oxtail from the liquid. Shred the meat from the bones and discard the bones and any fat. Set the meat aside. Strain the liquid and set aside to cool for at least an hour so that the fat rises to the surface. Skim off the fat and discard.

Return the liquid to a clean soup pot with the ginger, garlic, vegetables and barley and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the barley is cooked, about 20 – 30 minutes. Add the shredded meat and cook until heated through, about a further 5 – 10 minutes.

INSTRUCTIONS
Whisk the eggs in a small bowl until the yolk and white are fully combined. Cut the enoki mushrooms into thirds, discarding the bottom 1/3 and using the top 2/3rds. Trim the stems off the shiitake mushrooms and discard. Then cut the caps into thin slices. Drain and rinse the bamboo with cold water.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the noodles, mushrooms, and bamboo and set a timer for 3 minutes. While the noodles cook, in a small bowl combine the black vinegar, potato starch, toasted sesame oil and white pepper, and stir to combine. Add desired seasoning and bring to a boil.

Pour the egg into the pot from high above in a thin steady stream, while moving the stream of egg around the pot to distribute evenly. The noodles are done when the egg has cooked through. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve immediately.

Bring to boil reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Using immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. Add gnocchi, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender and heated through. Stir in cream and heat through for 1 minute. Stir in reserved mushrooms, chives and lemon juice.

And that is it – some simple, quick and (hopefully) easy recipes for you to get your soup on! Please comment on how your soups turned out. I’m off to find my running shoes so that I can be just like the famous Gaborone Runner…

************************************

Thank you so much Taffy for sharing these amazing recipes! I tend to stock my pantry with tinned soup from Woollies so it will be really nice to have something “real” and FAR tastier to try out! 🙂

Oh, these all sound so yummy (and they look great from the pics)! It’s our hot season right now (in Iowa), so I probably won’t be even thinking of soup for several months…but when winter returns (UGH), I’m all over the soup and bread 😉

Delish😋I don’t run ( except after my kids when I need to catch them 😉) but I sure do love soup. Thank you so much for featuring Taffy! These soups might inspire me to run more😂all the best with your continued training. Good luck to Taffy on her 10k.